


The Chaotic Child Between Hope and Despair

by TheDarkOne121



Series: DR: The Ultimate Chaos Chronicles [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brainwashing, Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Emotional Manipulation, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Psychological Horror, Suspense, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-30 06:09:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21423463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkOne121/pseuds/TheDarkOne121
Summary: Takara grew up with the Tragedy. Ever since her Orphanage burned down, Takara and her friend, Zou-san, were forced into hiding. Armed with her "special eyes" and Zou-san's special abilities, Takara has survived the world that wants to kill her.But after living that life for so long, Takara began to grow bored. Not to mention she was curious about who her parents are.Maybe she can ask these Remnants of Despair about her parents. They seem to know her mother well enough.But why are they calling her the "Heir for Despair"?
Series: DR: The Ultimate Chaos Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1544437
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	The Chaotic Child Between Hope and Despair

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Child of Clashing Ideals](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20902148) by [TheMago3011](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMago3011/pseuds/TheMago3011). 

> So, decided to do a new story. And it's Danganronpa! I plan some messed up stuff happening but I don't know if I will have a lot of time to work on it.
> 
> So, until then, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History. Also known as the Tragedy, for short. An event that caused the world to fall into chaos and destruction. Millions of people had died, the air was polluted, and it became difficult for survivors to eat. The Tragedy was the basic definition of the human race’s extinction.

Yet, they were still survivors. Survivors who held onto the days where the Tragedy didn’t exist and everything was alright. Elders would tell children of the days where the world was alright, how clean the air was that you didn’t need a mask to breathe, how they could have a full-course meal on the table instead of digging through the trash for food, how there were people who could love you unconditionally and will never let anything happen to you.

Children would smile and imagine this beautiful world replacing the Tragedy. Every child could not wait for it to come.

But for someone like Takara, who grew up knowing only the Tragedy, she knew that those stories were just that; fairy stories. The Tragedy was her reality, a reality she was forced to live with ever since the Orphanage burned down when she was three and she ended up being the only survivor.

The Tragedy was here and Takara knew it would take a long time before it goes away.

“Are you inner monologuing again?”

Takara looked up from her current trash-diving position to look over at Zou-san, who was sitting against the brick wall that was near the trash barrel she was at. Their head wasn’t facing her but she knew they were addressing her. With a frown, Takara went back to rummaging through the contents.

“I’m just self-reflecting,” she answers after a few seconds.

“Ah… Self-reflection… One that not many five-year-olds do, ya know,” Zou-san’s snarky voice was a nice change to the complete silence they were in.

“I thought it was clear that I’m not like other girls,” she refutes, picking up what appears to be an apple already bitten in. She takes a quick sniff before tossing it over her shoulder.

“No littering!” Zou-san shouted.

“We live in a bad world, Zou-san, no one is going to care.”

“I will! As long as I’m around, I will not have you become a dirty hobo!”

Takara wanted to point out how she was already living in poverty but decided against it. This was a game of theirs; pretend that the Tragedy didn’t happen and imagine what normal people would do in certain situations. It was fun in its way, but it can only keep her entertained for so long.

She finally found something that was possibly edible; an unopened box of marshmallows. Despite the bag’s obvious dirtiness from being with other trash, the marshmallows themselves looked fresh if the whiteness didn’t tell her enough.

Still, it was always nice to have a second opinion.

“Does this look good, Zou-san?” she brings the bag close to their face, earning her a sharp cry of disgust and surprise.

“Gah! Clean the bag first before you decide to eat anything from it!” they said. If Zou-san had more features other than those button eyes, Takara was sure they would scrunch their face up right at this moment.

Rolling her eyes out of amusement, Takara took a part of her dress and began to use it to wipe off the gunk on the bag.

“Hey! Don’t forget to wash your hands when you finish cleaning the bag!”

Rolling her eyes out of annoyance this time, Takara walks over to her backpack resting on the other side of the barrel. Thankfully, she had two water bottles in it; one for drinking and one for cleaning. After washing her hands, Takara finally opens the bag and peers inside.

A stack of soft, fluffy marshmallows and with an overwhelming whiff of sweetness greeted her.

Stomach growling from the smell, Takara picks up the biggest marshmallow she could find and took a moment to marvel at it. So soft, so fluffy. It reminded her of the nice pillows from the Orphanage. She wonders if it tastes just as good.

She opens her mouth wide, a loud ‘ahh” escaping as she brings the marshmallow closer and closer.

_ Click-clack! _

Takara rips the soft goodness away from her mouth as she whipped her head in the direction of the noise. It was noise Takara was familiar with because she lives in fear of that noise every day of her life out here.

The sound of footsteps coming closer.

Not wasting a single second, Takara grabbed Zou-san - ignoring their cry of shock - and her backpack from the wall and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. She didn’t think as she ran, adrenaline pumping in her veins as she allowed her eyes to roam the entire area, looking for areas that allowed her to run longer. Everything was running on pure instinct. She didn’t stop to think about anything other than escaping.

That proved to be her downfall when she turned a corner and found herself facing a brick wall.

The footsteps were getting closer.

“Up there!” Zou-san suddenly shouts and Takara snaps her head in every direction, looking for the thing Zou-san saw and hopes it would be a good place to hide. Her hazel eyes eventually found the fire escape ladder on her right and she didn’t waste another second.

Placing Zou-san in her bag and biting down on the bag of marshmallows, Takara began to make her up the ladder. Once she’s safely on the fire escape, Takara crawls over to the wall and presses herself up against it. She rips the bag from her mouth to breathe, her chest rising with every breath she took while her throat burns from the exhaustion.

The sounds of footsteps stopping right at the spot where she was previously standing kept her adrenaline pumping.

Gulping, Takara slowly crawls over to the edge, keeping in mind not to make any noise since these gratings felt old. She kept going further and further to the edge until she saw the gigantic head of the black and white bear.

She immediately pushes herself back into the wall.

Bear-heads, of course. And they were blocking the only exit.

Movement from her backpack caught her attention. “You thinking what I’m thinking, sweetie?”

She nods. Now that she has a chance to think things through, this was the only way to make it past the Bear-heads.

Grabbing Zou-san from her backpack, Takara reels her arm back and tosses her friend into the air.

“BANZAI!” 

* * *

Takara pops another marshmallow into her mouth and moans. The sweet, softness of this sugary food was unlike anything she’s ever had, even at the Orphanage, and she couldn’t help the water in her mouth to rise as she savors the taste of this delicious food.

From now on, she’s going to find more marshmallows on her next food raid.

“Can you stop making those weird noises?!” Zou-san’s voice speaks up from her backpack and she could feel them shifting around as if they were trying to get comfortable.

“I’m just enjoying my food, Zou-san,” she stated as she popped another marshmallow into her mouth.

“And you know I’ll never understand why you humans seem to enjoy tasting something that’s supposed to keep you alive!”

“Then maybe you should’ve found a form that had a tongue.”

Her words were responded with words that were mumbled underneath their breath, though Takara was able to make out; “Humans… Stupid sensations… Food is ridiculous…”

She feels her lips curling up into a small, amused smile. Zou-san always found a way to entertain her. Their efforts are worth the terrible the world the two were forced to live in.

It wasn’t long until Takara saw the familiar black dot that was on the brick of the building. To a normal person, the black dot would probably be a stray graffiti mark. It wasn’t uncommon to see graffiti on any buildings that somehow remain standing from the Tragedy, you could see words like “despair” and “the end is near” all over the place. You wouldn’t think twice if you see a stray spot of graffiti on a building.

But with her special eyes, as Zou-san would call them, Takara easily spot the differences between this mark and the regular stray marks on any other building. Other marks on the buildings had faded, somewhat, due to being around when the Tragedy first struck. But for this particular one, there was still a bit of color left.

With that, Takara walked into the alley the was between the building with the black dot and the one without it. To an outsider, one would believe that the alleyway was like a labyrinth for someone to get lost in but Takara had already memorized every twist and turn of this area that it almost became second nature to her.

Seeing the familiar trash barrel after wandering around the alleyway for 2 minutes just shows how well she’s gotten used to the area.

Biting down the bag once again, Takara places both hands on the barrel and pushes with all of her might. With her noodle arms and age, her strength left much to be desired, but she still was able to push the barrel far enough to reveal the small door attached to the wall.

She bends down and twists the knob, opening the door to reveal darkness. Still, it did not stop Takara from getting down on her knees and crawling into the opening. Once she’s seated in the familiar soft ground, she reaches back out to grab the barrel and move it int front of the door. After that, she closes the door, leaving her in total darkness.

That was until she found the chain above her head and turned the lights on, revealing her home to her hazel eyes.

The door led to a small room, possibly used for as a storage for food. However, years of abandonment had left the small place empty, allowing Takara to make adjustments as she saw fit.

The entire floor was completely covered by one giant blanket that Takara was able to salvage from the Orphanage. How it survived the explosion and fire, Takara had no idea, but she was grateful for it, nonetheless. On top of the blanket were smaller blankets, one was positioned in a corner, with a pillow right next to it. Takara had mentally dubbed that spot as her bedroom.

The other blankets were set off in another corner. Some of them were ripped from her previous time of stitching up her clothes while the others still look fresh and just-made. Takara could remember the raid for those blankets and she couldn’t help but thank Zou-san once again for giving her the chance to run from those Bear-heads.

Then there were the maps and gadgets she had lying around in the middle of the room, stuff she had acquired from her other raids. Some of them Takara didn’t have a chance to use but she had a feeling she will use them sometime in the future. For now, they were just useless junk in her home.

Takara took off her boots that were too big for feet and moved over to the blanket with the pillow. She falls backward, her head hitting the pillow, clearly exhausted from today’s events. She still found the strength to continue munching on her marshmallows.

Keeping her eyes on the deteriorating ceiling, Takara could hear Zou-san getting out of the backpack she had tossed aside when she walked over to the bed. Even when she knew they were standing near her head, Takara did not move her eyes over to her only friend.

“Decide today’s gonna be a lazy day?” Zou-san said and she just shrugged.

“I already looked over some of the things we got from the Bear-heads; they’re just a bunch of maps and stuff. I’ll plan the raid out tomorrow…”

Zou-san laughs. “Oh? Are your special eyes getting better?”

“Maybe… Are you ever gonna tell me what my special eyes are?”

“When you’re older.”

The was always the response she got whenever she asks Zou-san. With everything that’s been happening to her in this life, Takara figured she was at least mature enough to know something about herself.

Guess she’s still got a ways to go in Zou-san’s black button eyes.

“By the way,” Zou-san spoke up, their voice now a ways away from where she was laying, possibly rummaging through the gadgets. “What type of raid are you planning for tomorrow?”

Takara freezes, the final marshmallow just inches away from her mouth. It was seconds later that Takara decided to put the marshmallow back into the bag she found it in and set it down near her body. Feeling eyes watching her, Takara turns to her side to stare at the wall that was an inch away from her nose.

“You’re thinking about going to look for your parents tomorrow, aren’t cha?”

Takara responded by bringing the blanket over her body and snuggling into it.

“Hey, I’m not gonna judge ya. Ya want to look for your parents? Fine. You’re going to find them eventually, sweetie.”

Again, Takara didn’t say anything. It still didn’t stop Zou-san from laying down next to her, wrapping their arms around her beck. In response, she reaches over and brings them into her arms, burying her face in their head.

Her parents were a topic that Takara could not understand and she was quick to understand anything, according to Zou-san. The only information she had on them was that her mother was the one who brought her in when she was only three days old. Nothing about her father and she only had her guesses about her mother.

The idea of having a family, having a mother and father to love her like in those fairy tales… That sounded nice. That idea is what made her include them in one of her raids. Sure, they were a slim chance of the two surviving the Tragedy but a girl can dream.

A girl can dream…

“Goodnight, Zou…”

“Night, sweetie…”

With that, she closes her eyes, letting sleep overtake her.


End file.
